Aerial Bombing in Syria claims 28 lives

DAMASCUS: At least 28 people were killed and dozens wounded early Saturday as a result of aerial bombardment by the Bashar al-Assad regime on an Islamic State (IS)-held city in Syria’s northern province of Aleppo, an activist group reported. Nineteen of the victims were civilians who were killed by the bombardment on areas in the city of al-Bab, which is controlled by the IS in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, according to the Syrian observatory for human rights.

Nine other bodies were unidentified, the Britain-based watchdog group said, adding that the toll could likely rise due to the number of critically injured people. Al-Bab, around 38 km from the central city of Aleppo, is one of the oldest and biggest cities in Aleppo province, according to Xinhua news agency. In January 2014, the IS stormed the city and dislodged rival rebel militants, after killing 70 of them.